Lugs fall short to end homestand, 9-6

LANSING, Mich. - Samad Taylor homered and delivered a two-run single, but the Lansing Lugnuts' (28-15) attempt at a rally from nine runs down fell short in a 9-6 loss to the Bowling Green Hot Rods (26-16) on Sunday afternoon at Cooley Law School Stadium.

The Lugnuts finished their seven-game homestand with a 5-2 record, though their Eastern Division lead was shaved to 1 ½ games over second-place Bowling Green.

Nuts starter Maximo Castillo (Loss, 2-1) lasted only 1 2/3 innings, giving up two runs in the first and six runs in the second.

The Hot Rods increased their lead to 9-0 on an Eleardo Cabrera RBI single in the fifth against Andrew Deramo .

Relievers Deramo and Colton Laws fared superbly otherwise, with Deramo allowing only the one hit and one run in 3 2/3 innings, striking out three, and Laws tossing the final four innings scorelessly, striking out four, to keep the Lugnuts in the game.

Bowling Green starter Drew Strotman (Win, 3-0) worked five innings, holding the Nuts off the scoreboard until a pair of consecutive RBI groundouts by Kevin Vicuña and Brandon Polizzi in the fifth decreased the lead to 9-2.

Taylor blasted his third home run of the year to left against reliever Nick Padilla in the sixth inning, making it 9-3. The Lugnuts might have had more in the inning, but with two runners aboard, Brandon Grudzielanek 's long drive to center was hauled in by Emilio Gustave.

In the seventh inning, Taylor victimized Padilla again, singling in Vicuña and Polizzi to bring the Lugnuts within 9-5. Bowling Green brought in Jhonleider Salinas from the bullpen, replacing Padilla. Ryan Noda drew a walk, loading the bases, and Yeltsin Gudiño lined a sacrifice fly to left to trim the lead to three runs.

The 6-foot-7 Salinas stymied the Lugnuts from there, setting down the next seven batters in succession to record his first save.

In defeat, Noda went 1-for-1 with a double and three walks, giving him an MiLB/MLB-leading 48 base-on-balls in just 37 games.

The Lugnuts now head on the road, playing the South Bend Cubs from Monday through Thursday at Four Winds Field.

The next Lugnuts home game at Cooley Law School Stadium will be on Friday, May 25th, opening a seven-game homestand against the Fort Wayne TinCaps and Lake County Captains. To purchase tickets and live the Lug Life, visit lansinglugnuts.com or call (517) 485-4500.

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